Dawgs By Nature
Stopping the Eagles offense is key and it starts with Jalen Hurts
Look, I understand the vibes are low and the negativity is at an all-time high within the fanbase but the Cleveland Browns have a football game to play this Sunday.
The team will wrap up their three-game road trip and hope to salvage it when they play the Philadelphia Eagles. Cleveland is also looking for their first win against an NFC East opponent this season as they are currently 0-3 this season.
Kickoff is at 1:00 PM EST. Another game, another broadcast on FOX with Kenny Albert, Jonathan Vilma and Megan Olivi on the call.
Here are the three ways the Browns can upset the Eagles in Week 6:
Force Jalen Hurts to make mistakes
It’s not as difficult as it seems. Philadelphia’s offense has been out of sorts lately, mainly due to injuries but the quarterback hasn’t necessarily played to the level that he’s capable of. Here are some interesting stats that I found about Hurts.
Obviously, Cleveland should force Hurts into making mistakes but it isn’t always that easy. Cleveland is 17th in takeaways which isn’t bad.
Hurts has had moments in which he has put the ball in harm’s way more times than not. Watching the tape back, the Eagles QB has had moments in which he would make poor decisions with the ball whether it’s fumbling it or forcing throws that aren’t there.
The Browns defense has been fine at times this year but the issue is the defense would get put in bad spots due to the offense being inept. If Cleveland wants to have a chance to win this game, force Hurts into making bad decisions.
Limit explosives from Saquon, AJ and DeVonta
Philadelphia’s offense has three guys who can create explosive plays at any moment. Those players? Running back Saquon Barkley, wide receivers A.J. Brown & Devonta Smith. When it comes to Barkely, he can create explosives at any time (as I mentioned in my 3 players to watch for) but what about Smith and Brown?
Brown is recovering from a hamstring injury he suffered and it will be interesting to see how he looks after missing the last 3 games. Brown has big play capability, size and speed to match:
As far as Smith goes, he can be reliable as well and he could be due at any moment to have a big game:
For Cleveland, loading the box and being gap sound matters when it comes to stopping Barkley but for Smith and Devonta it’s tricky.
Depending on the matchup, putting cornerbacks Denzel Ward and at times Martin Emerson on Brown (Emerson has the size to give Brown fits believe it or not) seems logical and alternating between Greg Newsome and Cam Mitchell for DeVonta Smith makes sense as well.
Figure it out Deshaun
Quarterback Deshaun Watson has been a liability for the Browns, no need to sugarcoat...
